Germany’s energy transition in the media on 27 Oct 2014

German taxpayers may shoulder as much as 9 million euros in fees from a US lawsuit filed by Swedish energy group Vattenfall against Germany’s nuclear power exit, writes Markus Balser in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Citing SPD State Secretary in the Economics Ministry, Matthias Machnig, the newspaper reports that the government has already spent around 3.2 million euros this year for the suit, which is now in mediation. The paper also names “industry sources” as saying two nuclear plant operators owned by German energy company Eon are part of the 4.7 billion-euro suit.

Germany falling short of goals to expand electric car usage

Germany is unlikely to meet its goal of putting a million electric cars on the road by 2020, reports Inge Kloepfer in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. A higher density of recharging stations spread across the country is needed to compensate for inconveniences: the higher price compared to other cars, the inability to travel long distances without refueling and the extra time needed to recharge, the paper says.

Handelsblatt

Opinion: CDU-CSU energy policy expert Thomas Bareiß on the end of coal

Ending the use of coal for power production in Germany will destabilize the balancing act between a secure energy supply, environmental sustainability and economic viability, says the energy policy coordinator of the Conservatives' parliamentary group, Thomas Bareiß, in an opinion piece in the business daily Handelsblatt.

AFP

“Off-grid German village banks on wind, sun, pig manure”

A tiny village near Berlin is the first place in Germany to have fulfilled the country’s goal of carbon-free emissions, powering itself entirely by renewables, says Agence France-Presse in a feature about the German energy transition. The story ran in newspapers around the world.

“BASF, an industrial pillar in Germany, leans abroad”

German chemicals maker BASF will boost investment in North America to take advantage of cheaper energy costs there, while it will cut spending in Germany to a quarter instead of its usual third of annual investment, report Melissa Eddy and Stanley Reed in The New York Times.